Random musings of an empty-nesting mother of six, grandmother of six handsome boys,including three-year old twins, and four charming young ladies -- with surprises due in the spring -- who hasn't had enough sleep since before her own kids were born!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

This is my October entry into the Word and Question poetry game sponsored by Enbrethiliel at Shredded Cheddar. Follow the link to see more of this month's entries.

On Dialects(or is it dialectics??)

"AL-e-gory"/ "a-LEG-o-ry"My husband and I will disagree(Probably till the end of our days)About the correctness of these waysTo pronounce the word. On the other handUnlike many couples in the landWe both say "to-MAY-to", "crEEk", "pe-KAHN",The list of agreements goes on and on.

Neither of us says "melk" or "pellow"So we don't sound like that local fellowWho also will "aks" you what you know,And tell you just how "fur" you can go.

Our accents are generally the sameWhen we play the pronunciation game.(Though when I was a child I said "warsh" and "rinze" --I still do it sometimes just for grins.)But I wonder how we sound to you,And if, perhaps, it's really trueThat we both mispronounce things all the time.(I'll do it on purpose, to force a rhyme....)

But you want to know who says that word which way?...I'm right and he's wrong, that's all I'll say!

Word: allegoryQuestion: Were you hoping for more?

The standard spellings of the words in quotation marks are, in order: allegory (twice); tomato; creek; pecan; milk; pillow; ask; far; wash; rinse. I am absolutely certain that every reader will pronounce one of these differently than I do! And I am very sad that I couldn't work in "umber-ella" (umbrella) or "wheel-barrel" (wheelbarrow.)

Monday, October 10, 2011

Outside my window... I can see every shade of green and brown and yellow and red and orange. This is my favorite part of fall: warmish days, cool nights, and still enough green to make the other colors seem like accents.

I am thinking...about simplifying my schedule. I think about this periodically, and o c c a s i o n a l l y I make a change. It's really true that the hardest thing is deciding between two (dozen) good things.

I am thankful for... this past wonderful weekend with my family. We celebrated all being together all weekend long, not just with our Canadian Thanksgiving dinner. The dinner did lead to some humor: people started naming Canadian things they were thankful for. Stratford,Ontario!GordonLightfoot!Geddy Lee! But when somebody got to Justin Beiber, we shut it down. (Even though he is from Stratford....)

I am creating... a table plan for our local pro-life banquet. Many organizations buy tables of eight, but some people buy one or two tickets. I get to figure out which individuals get to sit where, and which groups get the "best" tables near the front. That one's easier, since I try to give them to the groups who paid first!

I am going... nowhere until knitting group tomorrow. We are letting Brandon use one of our cars while he's on leave, and he won't be in town until Wednesday so the people with jobs get first dibs on the other one in the meantime. But that's OK, since I don't want to go anywhere.

I am reading...Evanly Bodies, by Rhys Bowen. In hardback from the library, because I've always argued that I preferred "real" books to an e-reader. I think I will always prefer them, but Brandon just gave me his Kindle -- because it was just taking up space in his locker and he reads everything on his iPad -- and my friend Julia, who has always lent me books, now buys all of hers in that format. So I'll be reading some things digitally from now on. But I need to get through the pile from the library before I let Julia lend me another ebook, especially since the ones she has expire in two weeks. I need to make sure I have time to read them before I borrow them. Unlike the paperbacks from my sister-in-law which have been sitting on the end table for several moths.

I am hoping... that we will find a replacement for my van soon. The requirements are "in good repair, runs well, and cheap," so it will probably take a while.

I am hearing... the hum of my computer, and the drone of the refrigerator.

Around the house... I need to figure out where four grandchildren are going to sleep this weekend, while both sets of married kid take a get-away with "only" the babies. We have lots of beds, but nobody is old enough for the top bunk with no rail, the ones in the basement are too far from Grandma and Grandpa's room, and we don't have infinite floor space for sleeping bags. But everybody will have fun!

A few plans for the rest of the week: my Bible study group here in the morning, knitting group, Brandon arrives, we go pick up the grandchidlren on Thursday. Friday I hope to take them to "Small Wonders" at the library (story time plus crafts) and we're planning on the HS football game in the evening. They love marching bands and football on TV, and we should be able to entertain them through the first half, at least.

Words I'm pondering : How much wood could a woodchuck chuck?.... My current ponderings are decidedly NOT deep.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing.... Roger and me with all the grandchildren. From left to right.. Camilla; Daniel; me holding Linus; Roger holding Lauren and Ambrose; Matthew; and Blaise. This was taken in August; the twins are definitely bigger now!